


tumblr drabbles

by itachiphobia



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-03-26 11:22:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13856760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itachiphobia/pseuds/itachiphobia
Summary: Mostly just prompts I get on Tumblr/drabbles I wrote just for the lolz. Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the lowercase. I was in a Mood.

sakura has a heart filled with love, love she cannot share yet. she would wait, she promised.

all her life, sakura has been loved. her parents, her friends, and everyone whose life she has touched. so her heart kept filling up and that love turned into something so pure that she couldn’t return it to just anyone. she loved her parents, she loved her friends, but the kind of love she had stored was for him and him alone, or so she believed.

all her life she loved him but she also knew he didn’t need that kind of love. he needed healing. he needed time. he needed /love/. but not what she had to offer. so her heart remains filled with that untouched love.

she would wait, yes, but somewhere she knew that she would never be able to share this with him. so the feeling her heart remains as it is. she convinces herself that it’s all fine, that it is for his own good. but as time goes by, that very love starts feeling trapped in her own heart and eventually turning itself into a dull, bitter ache.

enduring the hurt she feels, sakura finally lets him go, her love still full and painful.

as he walks away, he leaves something behind: an empty, loveless heart. its vessel is cracked and broken, but it still yearns for more as it seeks after him with no avail. having received love from no one, its owner is now numb after having forced every drop of affection in her entire self to shower him with. karin, with her broken and empty heart, could never love the same again.

perhaps it is by chance that these two hearts connect. sakura’s pain starts to subside when the healer in her urges her to fix the broken vessel in front of her. she tries for her, she cries for her. sakura loves because karin can’t. and one day, sakura notices that the pain is completely gone despite her heart being full. it is only then that she notices that karin’s cracked vessel that she had sworn to look after is not only fixed but is full too. filled with love; sakura’s love.

sakura’s heart is now filled with the purest kind of love, but it’s not just hers. her heart is no longer her own, but it also belongs to the woman she healed – the woman who healed her in return as well.

sakura has a heart filled with love. but this time, it doesn’t hurt.


	2. Team 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Mind if I join you?"

“What exactly are you doing, Sasuke?”  

A blond head popped up in his view, blocking Sasuke’s vision of the orange evening sky. Naruto looked down at him with furrowed brows.

“Nothing,” Sasuke replied, not moving. He was sprawled on the grassy earth of the training ground, much to Naruto’s bewilderment.  

“Weren’t you training some kids from the Orphanage?” Naruto asked again.

“Yeah, we were done so they went away.” Sasuke looked away from Naruto and focused his gaze back to the sky.

“And you’re just…watching the sky?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“It’s peaceful,” the Uchiha answered honestly. “That jounin from the other team seems to do it a lot, so I thought I should see what’s so special about it myself.”

“You mean Shikamaru?”

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto stepped back, confused, and looked up too, wondering what he was staring at. The sky wasn’t unordinary; it looked the way any evening sky would. A cool, faint breeze blew and the rustling of leaves took over, accompanied by the sound of chirping birds. He gaped at Sasuke for a while, wondering why he was just laying around like that. _Was he tired? Did Sasuke ever feel tired?_ That could be the only explanation for him acting in such a trivial manner _._ Also, what _was_ so special about cloud-watching? He thought that there was only one way to find out.  

“Mind if I join?”

Sasuke looked back at him, confused at his question. He preferred to be alone, but knowing Naruto, he simply sighed in response. “As you wish.”

Naruto’s eyes lit up. Sasuke watched his teammate lay down next to him through the corner of his eyes. The blond took to assuming the same position Sasuke was in, with his arm and legs spread wide. They were quiet for a long moment, watching the clouds, till Naruto spoke up again.  

“You were right. This is cool.”

“Hm.”

“I can see why Shikamaru is so into cloud watching.”

A couple of minutes passed, and they remained as they were. However, the peace was abruptly broken when another head popped up in their vision.  

“What are you guys doing?” It was Sakura.  

“Just chilling,” Naruto responded.  

She raised her brows. They could see the fatigue in her eyes. She held a white coat in her arm and her pink hair was tied up in a messy bun. This was the route she used to get back home from the hospital so it made sense that she happened upon them at this hour.  

“Ah,” she said like she understood completely. “Mind if I join?”

“Sure,” Naruto and Sasuke said in unison.  

She went around them and took her position beside Sasuke after carefully placing her coat on the grass. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes after her back touched the ground. “I needed to go back home to my bed, but this is much better,” she said after a minute passed, looking up at the sky.  

“Peaceful, isn’t it?” Naruto asked.  

“Yeah. I think I understand why Shikamaru’s so into this.”

“I know, right?” he quipped. “I had a long day going through paperwork, so this feels nice.”

“Hmm.” Sasuke and Sakura hummed in agreement.  

They went back to being silent and resumed with their cloud-watching. There seemed to be no particular reason why they were doing this and perhaps none of them could come up with a reason for this, but it felt nice. It had been a long time since they had been in each other’s company without work being involved. Forever, in fact. The peace had only just started to take over completely, but then…

“What are you three up to?” Their moment of peace was cut short yet again. This time, it was Sai.  

Sasuke tightened his jaw with annoyance, while Naruto grinned at their visitor. Sakura gave him a small smile.  

“Just chilling,” Naruto said.  

“I was going home and I saw you guys here, all motionless,” Sai began. “I had to check if there was something wrong.”

“No, we’re fine.” Naruto waved him off. “Wanna join us?”

Sai looked at him dubiously. “Is that okay?” His gaze hovered over to Sasuke, who simply shrugged. Sai looked at his watch and then at the sky. “Well, looks like I have time to kill, so why not?”

“Great!”

After some time, Sai settled down. “So, this is why Shikamaru-kun is so into cloud watching,” he mused after a few minutes. “I get the appeal now.”

“Pretty cool, right?” Naruto chirped.

“Yeah.”

And thus, the four of them laid there in nothing but each other’s presence, staring at the sky that was turning darker by the minute. The clouds above them gathered together, suggesting a possibility of rain in the night.  

“So, mind telling me what you kids are up to?” A familiar voice spoke up after a few minutes. Sasuke tsked.

Naruto’s head snapped up, from where the voice came. Sasuke mumbled some inaudible, displeased words under his breath while Sai and Sakura remained as they were.  Kakashi, draped in his Hokage cloak, and Yamato in his regular jounin gear were standing over them. Their sensei had a concerned look on his face, his hands on his waist. Yamato had his arms crossed over his chest, his eyebrows raised. Naruto recalled that Kakashi had to supervise an inspection nearby, conveniently enough for him to find them here. _A strange coincidence._  

“Just chilling,” they responded together, Naruto assuming his position again.  

“We were looking all over for you, Naruto,” Kakashi said. “There was some work back at the office—”

“Is it urgent?” Naruto cut him off.  

“Well, no. Not really, but it would good to—”

“Okay, great. I’m busy right now.”

“You’re doing nothing?”

“Exactly.”

Kakashi parted his lips to speak up, but Naruto had his eyes closed already. He seemed tired, even for someone with his level of stamina, so he decided to leave him be. It wasn’t something Kakashi couldn’t handle on his own, or even something that couldn’t be put off till the next day.  

Though, he had to admit to himself something was definitely strange about them laying around like this, at this hour. None of them spoke a word and continued to blankly stare at the sky. He wondered what was up with them. However, it seemed like they were enjoying whatever they were doing—or not doing.

Naruto was adjusting to the silence when he was suddenly startled by the sound of footsteps on the grass beside him. He opened his eyes to find Kakashi laying down next to him, evidently having no regard for his prestigious cloak.  

“Uh, Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing?” Naruto raised an eyebrow.  

“Don’t I get to ‘chill’ as well?” Kakashi put his arms over his head and rested the back of his head on his hands. “Hope you don’t mind if I join?”

“No, it’s not that…” Naruto began. “Don’t you have Hokage stuff to do?”

“Yeah, don’t you?” Yamato spoke up.

“It can wait.”

The blond’s lips formed an ‘o.’ He went back to laying down. Yamato sighed.

Kakashi reached out a hand towards his junior. “Join us.” This earned an eye roll from Yamato.

“It’s pretty nice,” Kakashi explained. “Shikamaru does this a lot, so it must be.”

Yamato sighed again. He figured he had no choice but to join the legendary team of idiots in this bizarre activity. His job was to accompany Kakashi after all. He laid down next to him. The initial feeling of awkwardness subsided when he viewed the sky. _So, that’s why,_  he wondered to himself.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru, who had come to simply use the training ground to practice a new technique he had been working on, witnessed the entire thing through one of the bushes bordering the clearing. His eyes were wide open with horror, as contemplated what was happening. What was going on? Why were the six of them so into it? Was his ‘hobby’ indeed _contagious_?

“What have I done?” he mumbled to himself, thinking whether he’d accidentally deprived Konoha of its biggest assets.


	3. SasuKarin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "I'm not leaving."

“I’m not leaving.” 

Sasuke was seated on the floor of his room, hugging his legs to his chest with his head resting on his knees. He hadn’t looked up in a while. “Please, I want to be alone.”

“I said,” Karin stepped closer to him, “I’m not leaving. Not until you talk. You’ve been bottling it up for so long. You don’t eat. You don’t sleep. You rarely talk to anyone. This can’t go on for long. You need to speak up, or else…”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re _not,_ ” she emphasised. “Do you really think I am that ignorant? I know what you’re going through is tough—”

“You know, then why do you want me to talk?”

“I want _you_ to let it out. That’s all. These feelings your holding in, they will break you. You need to talk. You need to say something. This is only going to hurt you. So please, I just want you to _talk._ ”

He didn’t reply. She expected him to ask her to leave again, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, his body started to shake and she heard him let out his suppressed sobs. 

She thought she had to fight more to get through to him, that she would be ready for it, but she was proven wrong. She felt her heart sink, and there was a lump in her throat as she saw him turn softer and more broken by the second. She had never seen him cry, even in the past few days. She didn’t know what to do as his body continued to shake. Somehow, her weak legs involuntarily carried her towards him. She seated herself beside him and pulled his body towards her, resting his head on he shoulder. He held onto her as he cried, letting his hot tears flow.

“I just…I miss him. I…I miss Itachi so much.”

In the past couple of days that Sasuke had lost his elder brother, he hadn’t shown a shred of emotion. But now, he was letting it all out. The seal he had bound himself in had finally fallen loose. She felt herself grow weaker as she felt his tears on her clothes, but she knew she had to be his strength during this time. He trusted her enough to reveal this vulnerable side of his to her, so that had to be a start, right? 

She put her arm on his shoulder, pulling him into an embrace. His cries grew louder. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she said, and then repeated her words.

_I’ll be here. I’m never leaving your side._


	4. Kushina and Kid Naruto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Sit down and shut up."

“But Ma—!” Naruto began to protest, getting up from his chair, trying to reach out to whatever his mother was holding.

“Sit down and shut up!” Kushina yelled at him. “I will not have my son eating anymore cup ramen!”

“But—”

“I said _shh_! At this rate, your body would be ninety-nine percent ramen!” She proceeded to walk towards the kitchen and dumped the cup in the trash, earning a loud gasp from her son. “There, much better.”

“ _No!_  That was the limited edition flavour!” There was so much pain in Naruto’s voice, that one would imagine he had lost a loved one or two.

“Well, I don’t care.” Kushina snapped. “Sit back down, young man. We’re not done.”

The thirteen-year-old glared at his mother as he did as he was told. The grief of losing his precious cup hadn’t subsided from the way his whiskered cheeks turned red.

“You have been growing so weak lately,” Kushina began. “You hardly eat anything, and you’re so engrossed with training. How can you possibly aim to achieve your dream of becoming strong like this?”

“Well, ramen has nutrients…”

“No, it doesn’t! It’s all garbage.”

Naruto gasped again. “It is _not.”_

“And it’s not like you’re getting good grades in your studies either.”

“It’s not like you got any good grades either when you were my age,” Naruto muttered inaudibly under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Kushina got scary when she was angry, but this time it was his precious _ramen_ that had suffered the consequences of her anger. Kushina went on to explain about the ‘harming’ and ‘lasting’ consequences of consuming instant ramen, and things Naruto did not care about. Kushina realised that whatever she was saying was falling on deaf ears and after a seemingly long lecture, she sighed and gave up.

He was at the age where teenage rebellion starts to make itself seen, and Kushina was more than aware of it. Of course, his behaviour worried Kushina, but at the same time, she had to realise that he was a growing boy with his own needs and wants. Looking at his angry pout, she felt that perhaps he needed more than scolds and warnings.

“So…” she began again, “would you be happy if I made you some ramen?”

It may have been her imagination, but her words were followed by a slight twinkle in his blue eyes. “What?”

“You know, just like the one you were eating right now, only much better.”

“Really?”

She smiled. “Yep.”

A grin appeared on his face, but then it soon vanished. “But it won’t make me forget the one you threw away.”

“You’re not in a position to decide whether you’re upset about that or not.” She was still smiling, but there was now a much more intimidating tone to it. Naruto sank in his chair. “But yes, I will try to make it like that one.”

“With the spices and everything?”

“Yeah. And some fish too.”

“Yes, fish!”

“And some fresh vegetables!”

“Yes, fresh veg—! What, no!”

Kushina let out a dramatic laugh as she walked into the kitchen to prepare her ingredients.

“No, ma! Anything but the vegetables!” the boy yelled after her, running desperately into the kitchen. “ _Not the vegetables!”_


	5. NaruSaku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Sounds kinky."

Sakura stared out the window of her office room, her elbows resting on her desk, contemplating on what she should have for lunch. She had been busy with a surgery since early morning, and she had another important appointment in half an hour. She wondered whether she should skip lunch altogether.

“Hey, Sakura-chan!” A familiar face popped from the bottom of the window, startling her. Naruto was beaming at her, hanging on to the window pane with his hands. “I knew you’d be here.”

Sakura placed a hand on her chest and breathed out. By this point, she should’ve gotten used to his scares, but somehow, she still hadn’t. “We’ve talked about this, Naruto,” she deadpanned. “Your surprise visits are nice, but not necessary.”

“No, you talked, I listened.” He pulled his body up and seated himself on the window. He was dressed in his ninja attire, probably headed for work himself. He raised his one hand to reveal a big paper bag. “I brought lunch for you. You must be starving.”

“How did you—?”

“No questions, eat up,” he cut her off and leaned forward to place the bag on her table. She peaked inside to find a small bento box. “You left early today so I was worried you didn’t pack anything for yourself. Looks like I was right.”

“You made this yourself?”

“Uh huh. After all, had to thank you for yesterday too.” He winked.

It took her some time to recall what had happened the previous day. When the memories returned, her face turned red. “I’m at work, Naruto.”

He shrugged, resting his back on the window. “What? I didn’t say anything remotely inappropriate.”

She sighed. “Thank you for the lunch, Naruto. You can leave now. It’s time for your demonstration at the Academy, if I’m not wrong.”

“Yeah.” He pouted. “No goodbye kiss, Sakura-chan?”

“We’re at the hospital. It’s Dr. Haruno here.”

“Oh, sounds kinky.”

“Naruto!” She flushed.

“Okay, okay. I’m going.” He laughed. “You’re welcome.”

She tried her best to suppress her smile. “Thanks.”

He flashed his signature grin before climbing down the window. She watched him as he jumped from one building to the next till he disappeared from her view. She then looked down at the bento box. _This is what I get for falling in love with the number one knucklehead._


	6. Sasuke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "This is my choice."

Sasuke’s heart felt heavy, and there was sadness within him that he hadn’t felt in so long. He stared at the photo frame in his hand, and an unknown emotion engulfed him. He had known this feeling, but he had suppressed it for so long that he had forgotten what it felt like. This feeling of fresh loss.

Was it worth leaving them? Was it worth cutting his ties? Was it worth losing everything once again?

_Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi…_

“No,” he suddenly said out loud, putting the frame face down on the shelf. Old faces flashed before his eyes; his mother, his father…

_And him._

The sadness was quickly replaced by anger. The infuriating rage burning in the pit of his stomach was mostly forced, but he had to get rid of this feeling of misery. He had to kill his emotions. He had to do this. Regardless of whether or not it was worth it, it was needed to be done. It was suffocating, but he would endure it for as long as it took.

“This is my choice,” he said to himself, affirming his decision. There was no turning back. He had to do this, for his family, for justice.

With an undeniably heavy heart, he left. He left it all behind.


	7. Sakura and Hanami / NaruSaku fam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Can you tell me what you're doing in my kitchen at 3 am?"

“Can you tell me what you’re doing in my kitchen at 3 am?”

Startled, Sakura jumped away from the fridge and closed the door in one swift motion. She turned around to find a dark silhouette standing at the entry of the kitchen. A yawn followed, unmistakably and palpably her daughter’s.

“Hanami, I didn’t realise you were awake,” Sakura said in the most nonchalant way possible.

“You haven’t answered by question, Ma.” Hanami switched on the lights and crossed her arms on her chest. Sakura could see that there was still some sleep left in her eyes. Hanami was still wearing her jounin outfit, suggesting that she had fallen asleep without even bothering to change.

“Looks like I woke you up!” Sakura forced a small laugh, scratching her head. “Sorry about that. I was just looking for something to eat. Just some late night snacks.”

“So, you came all the way to my place to look for food?”

Sakura’s smiled lingered for a while before she gave up and sighed. “I came here a few hours ago,” she replied honestly. “I saw you were already asleep, so I didn’t wake you. You must have had a long day, now that you’re jounin and all.” 

“Oh, okay.” Hanami’s surprise subisided. She yawned again, having trouble even standing up straight. “And, yeah. I did have a long day, kind of.” She looked around, her eyes scanning the place. “You’re here alone?” It was strange how her mother chose to hang around here all on her own, that too at this hour.

“Well, your Dad was busy, and you know how he has been with the upcoming election and everything,” Sakura explained, shrugging. “You and your big brother have moved out, now that you’re both all grown up.” The corners of her mouth twitched into a small smile. She dragged her feet across the floor, her voice barely above a whisper. “It gets kinda…lonely sometimes.”

Her voice was so faint that it was barely audible to Hanami. The younger pinkette was speechless for a moment. She realised that it had been quite some time since she had seen her mother in person, and a sad feeling brewed in her stomach.

Sakura looked up to speak further, but her words were cut off by her daughter pulling her into a hug. Sakura stared at a distance with wide eyes, while her daughter held onto her. “Hanami…” Sakura said into her shoulder, taken aback. 

She was so much taller now, taller than Sakura, and almost on par with Shina and Naruto. Her little girl had grown so fast, and there was something sad, yet uplifting about it. She hugged her back and smiled to herself. It had been so long since they had had a proper conversation, much less shared an embrace.

“I’m so sorry I haven’t been spending much time with you,” Hanami said, hugging her tighter. “I promise, promise you that I’ll find more time for you.”

Sakura giggled. “There’s no need for that. As long as you’re here and taking good care of yourself, I’m happy.”

“I love you.”

There was something so childish about the way she said those words that Sakura felt her heart melt. “I love you too, flower.” 

When she pulled back after the long hug, Sakura could see some life in Hanami’s exhausted and drowsy eyes. _Her beautiful, overworked daughter._

“Ma?”

“Yes?”

“Could you make me something to eat? I’m starving.”

Sakura’s smile grew broader and her eyes lit up. “Yes! Of course! What kind of question is that? Of course I’m going to cook for you. That’s what I’m here for!”


	8. SasuNaruSasu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: ""You honestly think you know me better than I know you?"

“You honestly think you know me better than I know you?” Sasuke lowered the book he was reading, a hint of mockery to his monotonous voice. 

“Yeah, I do,” Naruto said. “I’m positive I can get the best anniversary gift for you. Better than the one you’ll get for me anyway.”

Sasuke went back to reading his book. “Last year you cried for five minutes straight over the gift I bought you,” he pointed out. “You think you can top that?”

Naruto’s lips remained parted as he tried to think of a comeback, though nothing came to mind. He shrugged his speechlessness off and declared, “Well, now it’s been two years since we’ve started dating and I have developed my skills.”

“Skills, he says,” Sasuke scoffed in a low voice.

“Point is! I know you better than you know me.”

Sasuke snapped his book close and placed it on the sofa next to him. He leaned back, crossing his arms on his chest. “Fine,” he said, deciding to rile him up for his own amusement. “If you know me so well, describe what you think my day would’ve been like.”

Naruto seemed taken aback by the question, but he quickly recovered, as if acknowledging his challenge. “Yeah,” he nodded vigourously. “Yeah, I’ll tell you. That’s easy.” The last part seemed to be framed more like a question.

“Go ahead.”

“For starters, you…woke up early today.”

“Oh, and what time is that?”

The question seemed to have hit some sort of nerve because all the excitement in his eyes slowly vanished. “Well…six…thirty?”

“Wrong,” Sasuke bluntly says. “Five a.m.”

“What?! You get up that early?” A different kind of shock registers on the blond’s face. “Are you human?”

Sasuke huffed. “Okay, let’s move on. What did I have for breakfast?”

Naruto still hadn’t fully recovered from the previous loss. His face fell into thought again. “T…tomatoes?”

“Who the hell has tomatoes for breakfast?”

“How would I know?! This question is unfair!” Naruto cried out. “I always wake up late. How would I know what your mornings are like?!”

“Okay, so what was my afternoon like, then?”

No answer.

“Thought so.”

“Well, your life is an ever-evolving mystery!” Naruto argued. “Who knows what you do during the day? Even Kakashi-sensei doesn’t tell me what work you’ve been assigned.”

“That’s because you’d be distracted if you knew where I was.”

“What’s the supposed to mean?”

“Point is, you lost.” Sasuke picked up his book again. “Your claim has been refuted.”

“No, it hasn’t,” Naruto protested. “You haven’t told me what you think my day must’ve been like.”

Sasuke looked back at him. “You will be disappointed. You sure about this?”

He nodded.

“Okay,” Sasuke said, dragging in a breath. “You woke up late today, at around nine or so. You had to get to work today early, so you had the worst morning. You probably had cup ramen for breakfast, maybe some milk too. Regardless  of your attempts, you were late to work. Lady Tsunade and Sakura may not have even bothered scolding you because they’d be that disappointed. Since there’s nothing very urgent coming up, you were probably assigned a simple D-rank mission, maybe two. Considering the books you’ve been unsuccessfully trying to read this evening, one of the missions was research, perhaps? And strictly between us,” he leaned forward, a knowing smirk playing on his lips, “I think you’re wearing your orange boxers—”

“Enough!” Naruto’s face was red and he shot up from the sofa. “I get it!” He seemed undeniably upset at his clear loss. He started heading out. “This—this doesn’t mean anything! I’ll still get you the best gift ever. You just watch!”

Sasuke chuckled as he heard the door of the apartment slam shut. Of course, this didn’t mean anything. Naruto knew him better than anyone, really. He had deliberately asked a question that was destined to lead Naruto to loss. Naruto’s life was basically an open book. Anybody who spent five minutes with him would know what he’s like; he’s just that kind of person. Sasuke knew better than anyone that no matter what Naruto got for him, it would be important to him.

It was just that Naruto was very endearing when he got frustrated, and Sasuke simply took his chance. 

“What a loser,” Sasuke mumbled to himself as he started reading his book again.


	9. Crows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: crows. blood. smell. child.

Yuuto limped his way further into the forest, inhaling sharp breaths every time he took a hasty step. The kunai had managed to just graze his leg, but it was enough to draw some blood out and cause more pain than the nine year old boy was accustomed to experiencing. The sky was growing darker, the woods were getting scarier and he had to get home as soon as possible. He knew that he had witnessed something he shouldn’t have and that he had to get away from what he had just witnessed. He regretted not listening to his mother and just staying home instead.

Yuuto had followed the sound of crows cawing deep into the forest, till he had ended up near a small clearing. There had been three men—one seemingly a civilian, the other two wearing black cloaks with red clouds printed on them. He had witnessed their fight, hidden behind the large, wide trunk of a tree. He had never seen these people before but something about them instantly struck fear in him, especially the men in black. Yuuto couldn’t hear them from where he was, but he could deduce that the men in the black robes intended to kill the man before them. 

One of them was tall, and carried a large weapon with him. Yuuto had never seen a sword like that. The tall man was also…blue, and had sharp teeth. Yuuto wondered whether he was human at all.

But it was the other man that concerned Yuuto. He was shorter than his partner, and had remained quite and calm, witnessing the blue man fight their target from a distance. The target, who seemed to be a middle aged man, had managed to land a kunai on the dark haired man, but his body had instantly dissolved into crows and Yuuto could only watch in surprise. Soon after, the middle aged man let out a large piercing scream, clutching his head in his hands. It wasn’t clear what was happening, but Yuuto knew that the man with the dark hair—who was now standing right next to his partner—had done something to him.  _Genjutsu, perhaps?_

However, the man hadn’t given up and in his state, managed to throw another kunai at his attackers, which the shorter man easily deflected. This deflected kunai had ended up whistling towards Yuuto, cutting him below his knee. Yuuto, letting out a loud gasp, nearly fell from the branch he was in. Panicking and praying no one noticed him, Yuuto had stumbled down, preparing to run the other way. As he tried to run away, he caught a glimpse of bright, crimson eyes. 

Yuuto’s legs gave in and he tripped. He crawled up against a tree and sat down with his back against the trunk. He pulled his leg to his chest, examining the wound. The cut wasn’t too deep, luckily, but it was burning and he was unable to get up. The metallic smell of blood proved to be unpleasant, and he begged his legs to gain some strength.

Suddenly, he heard the dreadful voice again—the sound of crows. It was at a distance, but slowly the caws grew louder and he realised they were getting closer. 

His body froze in horror.  _Did they find him? Did they know he was there? Did they end up killing the man?_ He knew they were not ordinary shinobi, that they could be criminals for all he knew.  _Wouldn’t that mean they would want to erase all witnesses?_

His body trembling, he felt he was being watched. He slowly looked up and found three pairs of black, round eyes, looking down at him from the branch just above him. Crows. 

Yuuto’s blood ran cold and he couldn’t voluntarily move his limbs. More crows gathered, peering at him with curious eyes and letting out loud caws, as though trying to call on someone. He looked back down, desperate.  _Stupid legs, work!_

Footsteps approached from behind him and his heart pumped rapidly against his chest. He wanted to run, crawl—whatever just to get him out of there. He pushed himself off of the tree and thought of pulling himself forward by digging his fingers into the grass, but a pair of feet appeared right in his view. The boy looked up with panic in his eyes. The large, blue man had his strange sword resting on his shoulder, and flashed a wide grin at Yuuto with his sharp, threatening teeth. 

“What have we here?” the man said, amused, looking down at the boy.

“I…I…” Yuuto began, his voice parched. He wanted to scream, he wanted to get away, but he didn’t have to strength to do either.

“Kisame, please.” He heard another smooth and monotonous voice from beside him. The man with the crimson eyes.

Yuuto broke into a sweat and started trembling again as he was met with the eyes of the other man. They were completely black now, matching the colour of his hair. Dark lines ran down from his eyes across his cheek, an unimpressed expression on his face. He was the complete opposite of his partner, who huffed in response to his words.

_They want to kill me. They’ll really kill me. I’m done. I’m done._

The dark-haired man knelt down, reaching out a hand. “Are you—?”

The boy screamed and scrambled to his feet, miraculously finding his strength again.  _“I don’t want to die!”_ he cried as he ran away, half stumbling, half limping, but fast enough to disappear into the trees and get away from their sight within a few moments. 

Itachi stared after him and then at the hand he was now holding out to no one. “…okay?” he finished his sentence dryly.

Kisame huffed again.

“I don’t understand,” Itachi said. “The boy was hurt, wasn’t he?”

“Fear is a good motivator.”

“Fear? I was merely trying to help him.”

Kisame chuckled. “I think you should do away with the crows, Itachi-san. They’re a bit too much. They tend to scare children.”

“Well, I found them quite pleasant when I was a child,”

Kisame shook his head and started walking the other way. “The world doesn’t work the way you do, Itachi-san.”


End file.
